Flexibility and Resource Based Implementation
The Case of the GEFEN Reform
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.64166/yh7mkm76Abstract
This study examines the implementation of the GEFEN reform in Israeli schools as a policy initiative that combines managerial and pedagogical goals. Drawing on public policy scholarship and Fullan ׳s (2000) model of effective implementation, the study employs a multiple case study of 18 schools, including 58 interviews, approximately 20 observations and analysis of dozens of policy documents. The findings indicate near complete implementation of the managerial goals of budget management, work plan design and timetable organization, alongside partial and largely symbolic implementation of the pedagogical goals of differentiated instruction and student achievement improvement. Analysis of implementation processes shows that the reform ׳s architecture steers resources and accountability almost exclusively toward managerial goals, thereby preconfiguring the realization of managerial goals and the non-realization of pedagogical goals, in a way that cuts across differences in principal seniority and school complexity.
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